


Because I Knew You

by Rehearsal_Dweller



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, M/M, Wicked AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-28
Updated: 2013-11-18
Packaged: 2017-12-30 17:25:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1021387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rehearsal_Dweller/pseuds/Rehearsal_Dweller
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When they were in school, everything was good. Things worked.<br/>But the day that Nico and Percy boarded that train to Olympus... that was the day it all started to go wrong.<br/>Or right, if you were to ask one of their friends. Because that was the day they all really started to think.</p>
<p>(An AU based on/inspired by the musical/book Wicked)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Good News!

**Author's Note:**

> THIS WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A CHAPTERED STORY  
> THIS WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE A CHAPTERED STORY  
> AND YET HERE I AM  
> WRITING A CHAPTERED STORY  
> WE'LL SEE HOW THIS GOES OVER.  
> (strictly speaking this first chapter is actually a prologue but I don't want the numbering to look stupid)

 Everyone is celebrating.

People are shouting from the rooftops.

“He's dead! He's dead! The Necromancer's dead!”

People look to Percy, because his status as a public figure means that he really should do something, in the wake of something huge like this.

Annabeth is writing his statement.

He's meant to go out and say things like “that awful man who's been terrorizing our citizens for ten years is finally dead. Let's have a party.”

And, of course, he does. Only in Annabeth's brilliant way, not his sort of rambly one.

“My friends, we are entering a new era. Our leader has gone, but the man who has spent these last years striking fear into the hearts of our citizens has also been done away with,” Percy says to a large crowd of people. Annabeth is behind him, just to his right. She has her hand at the small of his back, gently pressing him forwards.

He must keep going.

“This is a great victory for us. Good has triumphed over evil. This is a time for celebration. But do not forget, friends, that we must not let our country fall to ruin in our excitement. We will take a few days to celebrate, and then we must start to take this as an opportunity to recreate this great land,” he continues. “We have never quite lived up to our potential, and this is a chance to improve upon something that was already good. Let the focus of this time not be on the vanquishing of the Necromancer, but on the opportunity that we have been presented with. Thank you.”

He's about to step away from the podium when someone shouts over the general sounds of the crowd.

“ _Percy!_ Is it true you were his friend?”


	2. There's a Strange Exhilaration

For the record, Nico is _not_ excited about starting at New Rome University. Oh, he was all for education and whatever, but he knew as well as anybody that he was just here to mind Hazel.

Their father had dropped them off, leaving Hazel with a gift of bejewelled shoes to remind her to be attentive to her curse and Nico with an order to Not Cause Any Trouble.

Yeah, great, very encouraging. 

(Not that Nico would want to be anywhere else, not when Hazel is in school here. He may resent that he's been ordered to be here, but given the _option_ he'd have come on his own. He loved Hazel, knew she needed someone to look out for her. He just wished that it had been his choice.)

Lady Hera, the headmistress, greets them and they introduce themselves.

“Hello, di Angelos,” she says. “I know your father well.”

Hazel smiles. “He's told us good things about you, ma'am.”

Nico suppresses a laugh. 'Good things' was a fairly large exaggeration, but he knows better than to comment.

Lady Hera takes Hazel by the hand. “Your father told me about your, ah, issue. We've arranged for you to have a single room in my building.” She starts leading Hazel away.

Nico can't watch that, though, and in a moment of frustration he shouts, “Stop!” and the concrete floor in front of Lady Hera cracks. “We're supposed to live together,” he says, when they turn around. “Father said he'd arranged it so I could look after her.”

“Nico, child, did _you_ do that?” Lady Hera asks.

Nico nods, nervous. “It was an accident. I needed you to stop,” he says. “Father said I'm to look after Hazel.”

Hazel shoots him a Look, and Nico _knows_ he's embarrassed her.

“She'll be fine,” Lady Hera says. “We'll find somewhere else nearby for you to room, don't worry.” She studies Nico for a moment. “And I'll be expecting you in my sorcery class. You clearly have a great natural talent.” She turns to face the room. “Are there any young men here who would be willing to share a room with Mr di Angelo?”

Nico opens his mouth to protest as another boy with dark hair steps forward, already halfway through Lady Hera's name (and, Nico could tell, not having been listening to a word she'd said).

“Mr Jackson, thank you for volunteering!” 

“Volunteering? For what?”

“To be Mr di Angelo's roommate,” Lady Hera answers.

“Oh, no, ma'am, I was just -”

“It's settled. Come with me, now, Hazel,” says Lady Hera, before leading Hazel away.

Jackson gives Nico a look that was about half distaste and half frustration before turning on his heel and walking away.

_Great. Awesome start. Just what I needed_.

–

Percy's more than a little bit frustrated.

All he wanted to do was ask Lady Hera why he hadn't gotten into the sorcery class, but _nooo_ , he ended up with a roommate he _didn't want_ and he still isn't in the stupid class!

“How'd it go?” Grover asks.

Percy shakes his head. “She didn't even talk to me. But now I'm sharing my room with some scrawny kid whose name I don't even know, which is _so_ not how this whole thing was supposed to go. Dad said he'd set it up so I'd be living on my own, but -”

“Hey, it might not be so bad,” says Grover. “Don't get so worked up about it, at least get to know the kid first. Which one is he?”

Percy points over to the boy with the black hair and old jacket who's still glaring darkly after Lady Hera and that girl – Hazel? - she'd walked away with.

“Oh,” Grover says, “well, don't judge a book by its cover?”

Percy rolls his eyes and picks up his suitcase. He might as well get up to the room and make sure he has first pick for beds. 

_I should at least get_ something _good out of this whole thing._

–

Hazel finds her way back to Nico before he actually goes looking for his room.

“Nico, _please_ ,” she whispers sharply, “make an effort. Try to make friends with your roommate. This could be good for you!”

“I don't like how far apart we're expected to be,” replies Nico, like he's having a completely different conversation.

Hazel sighs exasperatedly. “Look, I _know_ that you're protective, especially after what happened to Bianca. And I _know_ that Father wants you to look after me, but maybe this little bit of space will be good for us! Neither of us have ever really had _friends_ , so...” She can obviously tell that Nico wants to protest, because she cuts him off with “Nico, honestly. We'll still eat meals together and you'll have plenty of opportunity to smother me with brotherly concern. Just promise me you'll _try_ with this Percy Jackson person.”

And, because Nico really can't say no to Hazel, he nods.

In his room not long later, he sets his things down on the free bed – the one further from the window, which he appreciated – and turns to his roommate, holding out his hand. “We weren't actually introduced. I'm Nico di Angelo.”

“Percy Jackson,” his roommate replies, shaking his hand. 

_Well_ , Nico thinks, _it's not a perfect start. But it could be worse._


	3. Those Who Don't Try Never Look Foolish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Going to apologise right now because the characters aren't quite themselves yet   
> THEY WILL BE I PROMISE THEY HAVE TO GROW UP FIRST  
> (ps I really hope that there's at least somebody reading this who'll get the nods to the book version of Wicked as well as those to the musical because I'm mixing them)

It's a few weeks into the year when they first show up.

And _damn_ if those first appearances don't just set the tone for the next few years. 

Later on, Nico will muse that it was almost prophetic.

There are whispers of a prince and princess from the western lands joining the school, but no one seems quite sure what they'll look like or act like or be like.

Annabeth blows in like a hurricane, completely unignorable. She first appears in the common area in a little wheeled thing pulled by a mechanical something-or-other that she proudly tells them she designed herself.

Jason shows up halfway through a class through the wrong door and is promptly attacked by the lesson. It's pretty impressively ridiculous and Nico's not sure if he thinks it's funny or just sad.

(Either way, Nico makes sure that there's space next to him for the then still unintroduced guy to sit down next to him, an effort he didn't bother making for anyone else.)

Percy and Nico still aren't really getting on, but Nico's okay with that. He's sort of befriended – well, Hazel would call it befriended, but more accurately it's something like 'struck up an awkward acquaintanceship with' – Leo Valdez, who remembered him from a meeting in childhood that Nico had honestly forgotten but Hazel remembers fondly, and Jason Grace, who later tells them that he's been married since he was about ten.

“Dude, _why?”_ Leo asks.

“Our parents wanted to arrange an alliance,” answers Jason, shrugging. “I've only ever met her a few times.”

“Father considered something like that for my older sister a long time ago,” Nico says, offhand. “She threatened to run away and join a nunnery.”

Leo cracks up (possibly because he thinks Nico is referring to Hazel and is now trying to picture her as a nun, possibly because of the casual tone he's using, Nico doesn't know).

“I thought Hazel was younger than you?” Jason asks, eyebrows furrowed.

_He would get caught on that_.

“She is,” replies Nico, before carefully changing the subject.

Annabeth plans a _thing_ at a local club on Saturday. Nico isn't planning on going.

_Until_ Percy sets Hazel up with Leo.

(Nico knows, deep down, that it was just to get Leo to stop hitting on Annabeth so that _he_ could go with Annabeth, but Hazel's excited and he can't bring himself to crush that.)

“Nico!” Percy calls.

“Oh, hey, Hazel and I were just talking about you,” says Nico.

“Funny, I was just talking about _you_. Are you coming to the party tonight?” asks Percy.

Nico really wants to say no, but he also knows that he ought to and that he'll get hell from Father if he ever finds out that Nico let Hazel go to a party like this without supervision from him. “Yeah, I am.”

“Cool,” Percy says, “I'll see you there, then.”

–

_Grover owes me $20!_ Percy thinks triumphantly as he walks away from his roommate.

They're a month into school now and Percy still really isn't sure what to make of Nico. He's dark and broody most of the time, but the few times Percy's actually seen a smile on the kid's face he's kind of - 

_there is no circumstance in which I should be thinking about that boy as adorable or gorgeous or any of those things nope._

He turns his thoughts to Annabeth and their date tonight.

The time passes in a funny way, slow when he watches the clock, fast when he doesn't, and then finally it's time. He picks up Annabeth from her dorm and they walk over together, and when they arrive Percy spots Leo and Hazel already on the dance floor.

Jason, Annabeth's cousin, sits by the bar, just watching. Percy notices that he doesn't have a date, but then a moment later he remembers that Annabeth mentioned that Jason is _married_ already. Right.

Nico slips in later, and when he does everything sort of stops.

People freeze and stare at him, whispering behind their hands.

_Damn_ , Percy knew that Nico wasn't the most popular guy at school – knew he kind of creeped people out - but this was ridiculous. 

“Hey, Nico!” Percy calls, breaking the sudden silence. “You made it!” And without even a glance at Annabeth, he runs over and grabs Nico by the hand and pulls him back with him onto the dance floor.

“ _What_ are you doing?” Nico whispers, eyes wide and nervous.

“They've no reason to act like this,” replies Percy. “Dance with me.”

So he does.

As soon as she realises what Percy's doing, Annabeth joins them, and suddenly everyone's moving and talking again.

Later, Nico sits down on his bed across the way from Percy and asks, “Why'd you do it?”

“You're just a guy, Nico, they've got no reason to avoid you like they do,” Percy replies, shrugging. “Also, I'm pretty sure we're friends now.”

“That's new,” comments Nico.

“What?”

“Friends,” Nico says, then flops backwards onto his bed.

“Don't have many back home?” Percy asks.

“None, really,” says Nico. “Doesn't really work with the whole isolated home with a big, scary father thing.”

“Well, you've got me now.”

“ _Great_.”

“We don't really know each other, though,” Percy realises. “Here, tell me something about yourself.”

“Like _what_?”

“Like, uh... Y'know, I'll go first. I'm going to marry Annabeth.”

“You met her three days ago.”

“I didn't say I'd do it _now_. But she's pretty much perfect, so, y'know, down the line.”

“Good for you.”

“Now you tell me something.”

Nico pushes himself up on his elbows. “Hazel and I had an older sister named Bianca.”

“Had? D'you mean she's -”

“Yeah. And now we're done talking.”

“I, uh – okay?”

Nico rolled over, toward the wall.

Percy stared blankly at the back of Nico's head. _Okay, we're definitely coming back to that sometime,_ he thought. 

And then, _holy_ shit _he actually said something. Big._

_Oh_

_My_

_Gods._


	4. Don't Wish. Don't Start. (So If You Care to Find Me...)

It's a long time later, while Nico is listening to Mr D mispronounce Percy's name for the 932nd time this semester and Percy less-than-patiently correct him, that he realises.

Okay, wait, that's not exactly true.

Objectively, he's always known that Percy is gorgeous. That he can be genuinely kind when he's not being a complete and utter moron. (Sometimes even when he is.) That he sometimes had these moments of pure _brilliance_ that caught absolutely everyone off guard.

But for some reason – maybe because Percy's been going on about tonight's date with Annabeth for the last three weeks and has only now turned his attention to something else, finally given Nico a chance to think about him without Annabeth's name clouding his brain – it hits him _right now_ and suddenly Jason's giving him this Look and Nico feels like he's going to be sick.

“Hey, Nic, are you okay?” Jason whispers.

Nico wants to lie and nod, but he finds that he's shaking his head despite himself. “I'm just gonna – gonna step out for a minute.”

Jason opens his mouth to say something, but Nico's already gone. He slides down the wall of the bathroom and _hey, when did I get here?_ he puts his hands on his face, rubbing at his eyes.

_It's probably nothing._

_I've just been starved for interaction, like Hazel keeps saying. I don't know_ what _I'm feeling._

_He's got Annabeth._

And then:

_oh, fuck._

Because Percy's found him. Yeah, that's just what Nico needs – _Percy_. 

He's sitting on the bathroom floor with his head in his hands and he might have been crying if crying was something he did and of course, of _course_ it's Percy Jackson who finds him.

“Nico, are you alright?” Percy asks, sitting down next to him. “Jason said you ducked out about ten minutes in and never came back.”

Nico curls further in on himself, letting his too-long hair and the collar of his jacket hide the redness he could feel on his cheeks. “Just feeling a little off.”

Percy plucks at Nico's ever-present jacket. “Probably because you're wearing a leather jacket in such a warm building.”

Nico leans away. “No.”

“O _kay_ ,” says Percy, “no need to get defensive.”

“Sorry,” Nico mutters. “S'just – never mind. I'm fine.”

“Fine, then.” Percy stands and holds his hands out to Nico. “C'mon, if you're gonna mope around or be sick or whatever you should do it in our room. Somehow I feel like you wouldn't enjoy somebody you don't know coming in here and seeing you in this state. You really look sick.”

Nico lets his roommate pull him to his feet and pretends that he's not noticing how weirdly soft Percy's hands are. Percy drags him back to their room, doesn't drop his hand until they're sitting in their room on Nico's bed.

“You should get some rest,” Percy says, looking concerned.

Nico makes a noncommittal sound and flops backwards onto the bed. Percy frowns and throws the quilt over him. He stands up, but pauses to brush Nico's too-long hair away from his eyes. “Feel better.”

And if that doesn't just make things that much worse.

–

They've fallen into each others' lives, all of them.

Their third year of school starts with a lot of drinking, because Percy drags Nico out and they meet up with Annabeth and Jason and Hazel and Leo and suddenly it's a _party_. Nico never was one for parties before Percy decided they were friends.

(And that is _not_ because of the isolation, like Hazel always says. Well, it was a little, but there'd been enough time between not being isolated and the day that Percy forcibly absorbed him into this funny little bubble of people for him to learn how grateful he was for all of those years without _people_.)

The second weekend, Nico's out with Jason and kind of regretting it. 

It doesn't start so badly.

“I spent, like, half of the summer with Piper and her family,” Jason tells him excitedly.

“And how did that go?” Nico asks, because he's supposed to.

“It was _great_.” and Jason has this dreamy look on his face and Nico knows it's best just to let him babble on about Piper and Piper's dad and whatever, exactly until he says, “So when are you going to do something about that whole Percy thing?”

Nico chokes on his drink. “What are you -”

“C'mon, Nico, don't think I don't know,” Jason interrupts. “Sometime in that first year you fell _hard_ for Percy.”

“I- wh- _no_.”

“I'll take that as a 'no, Jason, I am not planning on handling that any time soon.'”

“No I damn well am not.”

“Glad we've got that settled then.”

After that, Nico carefully forgets that that conversation ever happened.

A few weeks later, everyone's favourite teacher, a half-horse history teacher named Chiron, disappeared. Percy's friend Grover (half-goat) went into hiding not long after.

They grow more and more aware of what has been happening slowly and now all at once in the outside world – people who aren't fully humanoid are going missing, or getting killed, or being thrown into prison for no reason. It makes Nico _furious_. They have this leader – a man who calls himself a _wizard_ , of all things – and yet _this_ was going on under his nose.

It' after Juniper (and her tree) was carted away that Nico has finally had enough.

“I'm going to Olympus, to talk to Zeus. This needs to stop,” he says after storming into the room he still shares with Percy.

“Woah, wait, _now?”_ Percy replies, watching as Nico darts back and forth around the room, gathering clothes and tossing them into a bag.

“Yes _now_.”

“Well, hey, wait, let me get a toothbrush.”

“What?”

“I'm coming with you, Nico.”

“Are you now?”

“I am.”

“Then get your stuff together.”

Their trip to Olympus is pretty much a disaster. Nico has something of a philosophical disagreement (read: shouty blowout argument) with Zeus. Makes a new enemy of him, even.

Percy makes the mistake of trying to convince him to calm down. Maybe apologise.

After it's all over, Nico hands Percy some extra food in the doorway at the train station. “Here, this should hold you over until you get back to school tonight.”

“ _Me_? What about you?” Percy asks.

“I'm not going back, Perce. I want to help, and I can't do that from there,” says Nico. He pauses, looking at the ground and playing with the cuff of his jacket. “You – you could come with me, if you wanted to. You're at least as powerful as I am, if not more so. _Think_ of what we could do if we worked together.”

“We could do anything,” Percy whispers, somewhere between unsure and awed.

“Anything,” Nico agrees. “So.” He hesitates. “Are you coming?”

For a moment, Percy doesn't respond, and Nico almost thinks he's going to say yes, but then - “I can't. Good luck, though.”

Nico leans forward and presses a gentle kiss to Percy's lips. “You too.” He kisses Percy again. “Good-bye.”

And then he's gone, like he was never there.

–

“Percy! You're back!”

“Where's Nico?”

“Yeah, what'd you do with Nico?”

Percy shakes his head, still kind of stunned. “He's not coming back.”


	5. Who Wouldn't Be Happier?

It's been four years since the day Nico kissed Percy good-bye.

Since then, Hazel and Leo have gone back to their childhood hometown, where Hazel has taken her father's role as mayor. Where her father has gone is anyone's guess.

Jason spends about half of his time in Olympus as a diplomat and half at the castle in the west where he'd grown up. Piper and their two-year-old daughter Thalia live at home full-time, with Piper running things in their town while Jason's away. She handles it better than Jason does, honestly, but he'd never admit that because as soon as he did he'd be out of a job.

Nico has grown infamous. Mere hours after Percy saw him last, Lady Hera – who has some connection to Zeus that Percy hadn't known about and apparently works in some press capacity in addition to the school thing – had released a statement denouncing the boy as an enemy of the nation. Rumours started flying in the days afterward, and nowadays it's almost impossible to tell the truth from fiction, unless you've met him. People are calling him the Necromancer now, because the most persistent story is that he can wake the dead. And they say he's wicked, evil. Everything, everything Percy knows he isn't.

He's always had the best of intentions. He's just not good at making friends.

And Percy and Annabeth are engaged. That part's new.

As they walk into the hall, they're greeted with an explosion of “CONGRATULATIONS!”-es.

(It's an engagement party, see?)

Percy's dragged up to the stage in front, and for the first time Annabeth takes a place just behind him and to the right, one hand at the small of his back, urging him to speak.

“Well, hi,” Percy says, grinning in that way that has made the citizens of this town fall in love with him in the last few years. The crowd cheers. “I'd like to tell you a little secret, if you don't mind.” A hush falls over the room, as everyone is now hanging onto his every word. “I decided about, oh, three hours after I met Annabeth that I wanted to marry her.” Out of the corner of his eye, he can see that Annabeth is smiling. “So this, this is a dream come true for me. Actually, my whole life is a dream come true. I've always wanted to have a position like the one I have now, out there, involved, helping the people. I couldn't be happier.”

Lady Hera steps forward, resting a hand on Percy's left shoulder. “Oh, and Percy, dear, we're happy for you. I always knew you were destined for greatness, even back when you were still in school. Why, I even set up your first meeting with our wizard. And,” she's speaking more to the crowd than Percy, and Percy can feel the propaganda coming before it leaves her mouth, “of course, that was the day you were given the title Perseus the Good. Which, as we all know, was when the Necromancer first showed himself, when he attacked in a jealous rage.”

Annabeth leans forward and whispers, “That's not what you told us happened.”

“It _isn't_ what happened,” Percy replies in a low voice, “but it'd be my word against Hera's, social suicide to disagree with her publicly.”

People are speaking up now. “I hear he never sleeps!”

“I've heard he sends the dead to kill his enemies then adds them to his army!”

“I heard he murdered his sister in cold blood as a child!”

Percy winces. Hazel told them, when that rumour had first started, what happened to Bianca. Nico had been ten, and he'd run too far off into the forest where they were playing and attracted a monster. Bianca found him just in time and saved his life, but she wasn't so lucky herself. Nico had blamed himself, but it wasn't his fault. Every time he hears someone invoke the story, Percy wants to recoil like he's been struck, because that story is bad enough even before it was changed to make Nico seem that much more evil. _They have no right_ , he thinks every time _, they don't even know._

“I hear that his soul's so unclean pure water could melt him!”

“ _What?”_ Annabeth blurts.

The crowd erupts in shouts of “Melt him! Melt him! _Please_ someone go and melt him!”

Annabeth grabs Percy by the arm and pulls him off of the stage. “Did you _hear_ that? Water will _melt him_? People are so empty-headed, they'll believe anything!”

“I know, it's awful,” Percy agrees, but it's not enough. Annabeth is furious.

“How can you just stand there and let them say this, Percy? He was your friend, your best friend!” Annabeth carries on as if he hasn't spoken.

“I can't – Hera and Zeus would have my head.”

“ _Screw_ Hera and Zeus! We know that none of the shit they're saying about Nico is true, and as his friends we can't just let them say it!”

“Nico _left_!” Percy says, and _gods, I sound bitter. I shouldn't be bitter about this anymore. It's been years_.

Annabeth fixes him with a dangerous look, turns on her heel, and walks away.

“Annabeth!” Percy calls after her, and then he realises that everyone's staring at him again. He walks back onto the stage. “She's gone to grab me a refreshment. She's so thoughtful that way.” He smiles, and he knows it doesn't look real. “That's part of why I love her so much, y'know. S'why I couldn't be happier.” _On paper._ “Dream come true, and all. It's not quite what I anticipated, but I couldn't be happier.” _Yeah, say it again, that'll make them believe you._ “Simply couldn't. Er, actually, not so simply. See, getting your dreams is a little, uh, complicated. It doesn't come for nothing, you know. There's a... cost.” _Like your best friend in the world._ “You lose some things along the way.” _Nico, Nico, Nico, what happened to you?_ “But with a perfect ending like this, how could I not be happy? Of course I'm happy! This is perfect!” _Liar, liar, pants on fire._

“Thank goodness!” cheers the crowd.

–

Jason is in the City, because he's always in the City this time of year. 

It's only significant because this time he sees the back of a familiar head, clad in an almost-forgotten jacket that Jason knew like anything.

What Nico's doing out in public when he's literally Public Enemy Number One right now and has been since the day after he left Percy four years ago is beyond Jason, but he's absolutely certain that it's him.

So he does what any reasonable person would do – he follows him.

He's pretty sure that Nico knows he's following him, even though he gives no indication. He just leads him to a small, run down building and into a small, messy apartment.

“You shouldn't be here,” Nico says, and his voice sounds hoarse from disuse. 

“You didn't stop me following you, though,” Jason replies. 

They stand about five feet apart, but it feels further.

“I was intrigued. You knew it was me, but you didn't run away afraid,” Nico says, shrugging. There's a hint of a smile on his face. “Or haven't you heard? I'm wicked, Jason. Evil, even. Killed my sister, play with dead people. Ringing a bell?”

“Hazel told us what really happened to Bianca,” answers Jason. “We wanted to tell people, tell everyone, clear you of that one crime, but she wouldn't. By the time we'd told, nobody would have believed us. And that would've been almost as much of an insult to her memory as the story everyone else is telling.”

“Thank you.”

“Your friends have been worried about you. I've been worried about you.”

“It's been years.”

“Exactly. We love you, remember?”

“I loved you all too much to stay.”

“ _Nico_.”

“Anyway, I'm sort of universally hated by the citizenry at the moment.”

“Not by us. Have you even said a word to your sister since you left?”

“No, it wouldn't have been safe.”

“You should, sometime. I think something in her broke after you left. Percy too.” 

“I have no regrets. It would have been dangerous for me to have gone back. Hera and Zeus already hated me, and there was nothing I could do from campus anyway.”

“You could have sent some word.”

“I couldn't have. I just wanted you all safe.”

“And we wanted _you_ safe.”

Jason hadn't been aware that they were moving together, closer and closer, until that moment.

And then he did the only thing that felt right – he closed the space between them. And Nico met him halfway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song for this chapter, Thank Goodness, is actually the one that inspired me to write this whole thing. If you haven't heard it, you should go look it up. It's a great song and Glinda's second verse heavily influenced Percy's little speech.  
> Jason finding Nico was inspired by how Fiyero found Elphie in the Emerald City in the book, for anyone who hasn't read it.   
> This chapter was quite an adventure to write, but I'm more excited for the next one, I think. Keep an eye out.


	6. I'm Wicked Through and Through

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm really really sorry for this.  
> Warning: Major character death in this chapter (It's been a long time coming)  
> Also: the spell that Nico reads at the end is word-for-word from Wicked's No Good Deed, from which the chapter title also comes.

It really hasn't been that long, not in the grand scheme of things.

It's barely been four months, but Jason has grown used to waking up with Nico curled up against him. It's nothing like with Piper, none of it, and not just because Nico is a man.

(And Jason truly does feel badly about that whole _married_ thing, but not badly enough to stop. Nico is new and his skin feels different and he never reacts to anything quite how Jason expects him to, and it's addictive, he can't convince himself to give it up.)

Jason's eyes are trained on Nico, and midmorning light streams through the window. There's a piece of him, a smallish largish piece, that can't quite believe it when they wake up like this. That Nico's here, that Nico wants him here. It's... unbelievable.

Nico shifts. “You can't come back here after today. It won't be safe,” he says.

“Why?” Jason asks.

“I'm going home today,” explains Nico. “To check on Hazel. Like you keep telling me to.” He rolls over, staring at the ceiling. “It's just a precaution. I don't want you to get hurt.”

Jason pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Nico's head. “Good. I'm proud of you.”

“Swear to me you won't come back here, Jason Grace,” Nico says, turning to him and fixing him with a dark look.

“I swear I won't,” answers Jason. “I won't.”

They're silent for a little while longer.

As they dress, Jason says, “If you ever need a safe-haven, my family has a castle out in the west. It's full of secret passages and hidden rooms, you could hide there, you'd be safe.”

Nico leans over and kisses him. “Thank you.”

“Will we see each other again?”

“I don't know.”

“I hope we do.”

“Well, in case we don't -” Nico tugs Jason closer by the front of his shirt and kisses him one last time.

–

“Hazel!”

Hazel's not really sure at first if what she's heard is real. No one's heard that voice in years – even the people who report sightings have never heard him speak.

Why should any of that change now?

“ _Hazel_ ,” he repeats.

She turns around, casting little dots of reflected light all over the room with her shoes. There, in the doorway, stood a man with longish, unkempt black hair, sickly pale skin, and dark eyes. Sticking out of his inside pocket, Hazel can see an old leather bound book – a book of spells.

He was thinner, half-dead looking, but he was unmistakeably Nico.

“Nico!” Hazel says. She runs across the room and throws her arms around him. “I've been so worried!”

“I know you have, sis,” replies Nico. He kisses her cheek before slipping out of her embrace. “You've done pretty well for yourself.”

Hazel glanced around at their surroundings. “This is all inheritance, you know that. But Percy – Percy enchanted my shoes so that they keep the curse under control. I've not seen a single gemstone aside from the ones _on_ the shoes since he did! And I've got Leo – oh, he'll want to see you! _Leo!”_ No answer. She raises her voice. “Leo! Come downstairs, we have a guest!”

Nico clears his throat. “Er, Hazel, isn't that him?” He points toward the window, and Hazel turns and sees that Leo is sneaking across the garden. She crosses the room and throws the window open. “Leo! Where are you going?”

“Oh, uh, nowhere!” Leo calls back, and Hazel knows he's lying.

“Come back inside, we have a visitor!”

Leo hesitates, clearly wanting to keep going to wherever he was going before, but he turns and walks back to the house.

A few moments later, Leo walks into the room. He stops dead when he sees Nico.

Nico waves lazily. “Hey. Long time no see.”

“Nico -”

“ _Leo_ ,” Hazel interrupts, “where were you running off to?”

“I – uh -”

“Just tell her, Leo. It'll end easier for all of us if you do.”

“ _IwassneakingofftomeetwithCalypso.”_

“Calypso?” Hazel repeats. “That girl who – who picks up stray men who get lost on the Road?”

Leo won't meet her eye. “Yes. She helped me out a few years ago and she – she stole my heart the day we met.”

“Stole your heart?” says Hazel. “ _Stole your heart_?” She snatches the book from Nico's pocket and starts flipping through the pages. “You'll lose your heart to me or _no one!”_

“HAZEL, NO!” Nico shouts, but it's already too late.

As they'd known him, Leo is gone.

–

Annabeth finds Percy reading on a couch in their sitting room.

“You need to go,” she says, plucking the book from his hands. “Get up.”

“How come?” Percy asks, even as he does what she's asked and stands up.

“There's a teenage girl from another world whose house was caught up in a magical storm and she's lost in the East,” explains Annabeth. “ _AndherhouselandedonHazelLevesque.”_

“What.”

“Her house – it crushed Hazel,” Annabeth says, wincing.

“Is she -?”

“She's dead.” Annabeth is remarkably composed for someone who's just lost an old friend. The same can hardly be said for Percy, which is understandable considering that they lost Leo only a few weeks ago. “Percy – _Percy_ , you can't grieve now. You need to _go,_ help the girl. I'll – I'll start organising the funeral. I'll meet you there.”

–

“Yeah, just keep following that road. You'll be fine,” Percy calls, waving after the girl. In a lower voice, he adds, “I really hope they don't get lost, I'm not great at giving directions.”

“Percy.”

Percy turns around, startled. “ _Nico._ Don't do that!”

“You sent that _kid_ away with Hazel's shoes,” Nico snaps.

“And you are _way_ too worked up about it, man,” replies Percy. “I never would've thought sparkly heels were your style.”

"I could save her! I could _bring her back!”_ shouts Nico. _“_ But I need an artefact - something of hers that was already magical to anchor her soul - and those shoes were _it!_ And now they’re walking away on the feet of that stupid little girl!”

Percy just fixes him with a sad look. "You can’t save everyone, Nico."

"I don’t want to save everyone, Percy,” Nico says, eyes teary. “I want to save _her_! Just - just my sister - just this time. You _know_ about Bianca, I couldn’t save her, but I- I could. If I get to that Sadie girl fast enough -“

"Now you leave her _be!”_ Percy interrupts. _“_ You’re not the only one who’s hurting! Just let the child go home!”

"I’m not the only one who’s - excuse me, have you lost a sister recently?"

“ _Yes_. Or have you forgotten that for the last few years Hazel has been more my sister than yours?”

Nico launches himself at Percy, punching him squarely in the face.

There's a pause, and then Percy laughs. “Feel _better?_ ”

“Yes,” Nico replies.

“Good,” says Percy before slapping Nico across the face. “So do I.”

And then suddenly they're not alone anymore.

“Nico!” Jason calls, running into the square. “Nico, you've got to run! The Guards are coming for you, they know you're here! Go now!” He's giving Nico this significant look that probably means something to both of them, but nothing to Percy.

Nico glares at Percy. “You betrayed me, Percy. And Hazel.”

He only stays long enough to see Guardsmen flood the square and grab Jason, then he's gone.

“Where did he go?” the Guardsman holding Jason asks.

“I don't know,” Jason replies.

“You came to warn him, you're aiding an enemy of the state,” another Guardsman chimes in.

“I don't know where he went!”

“You do, and you'll tell us, or you'll die protecting him.”

“Then I'll die.”

The last Percy sees of Jason is the blond being dragged away by his arms.

_For the love of the gods, Jason, just tell them something. We can't lose another friend today._

_I can't._

–

Nico had traveled to the base of Jason's family's castle in the west.

He pulled out his spell book – the same one Hazel had used to... _No_ \- and flipped through its pages, trying to find something, _anything_ that could protect Jason.

_Let his flesh not be torn_   
_Let his blood leave no stain_   
_Though they beat him_   
_Let him feel no pain_   
_Let his bones never break_   
_And however they try_   
_To destroy him_   
_Let him never die..._   
_Let him never die..._

“Please,” Nico whispers to himself, “let him be okay.” _  
_


	7. For Once I'm Glad I'm Heartless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Terribly sorry that this took so long! It's been a while since I wrote Sadie Kane (or watched/read The Wizard of Oz, which is a weird problem to have) and I wanted this chapter to work.

This day just gets weirder and weirder. And not even normal-weird, either, with mad gods and less-than-intentional possessions and angry magicians trying to kill them. No, no she had to get into that fight with Carter. And yeah, Sadie's blaming that for what happened. Things like getting scooped up by a freak storm and dropped on somebody's head don't just _happen_ – well, maybe they did to other people, but not to the Kanes. At least she has Bast with her, so she's not alone. Anyway, this place and Sadie's day are just wild and messy and insane. She'd landed _on_ someone, and instead of freaking out or throwing her in jail, Percy the Pretentious or whatever his title was had just _given Sadie her shoes._ And then the dead girl's brother showed up and threatened to kill her _for_ the shoes.

 _What is_ wrong _with this place?!_

And honestly, Sadie feels completely ridiculous. She's traveling with a living scarecrow, a weird steampunky robot guy, and a guy who was half _goat_ , for the gods' sake!

Weirder still, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man (the aforementioned robot guy) seem to have come to an agreement about not using names. They both have them, of that Sadie's sure, and they even seem to know each other, but for some reason they won't give their names to Sadie.

“This feels like an awful lot of work just to get home,” Sadie says, absently kicking a stone along the old brick road ahead of her. Bast, who seems to be stuck in her cat form, nudges her ankle and Sadie crouches next to her. “I know this story, I know how this goes. We go to the city and meet this magical Wizard or whatever, and then he sends us off on some other crazy quest and then in the end he probably won't even help us!”

“Don't be so cynical, Sadie,” the Scarecrow says.

The Tin Man chimes in, “Yeah, right, J- _right_. Maybe he'll even help you find a brain, because _that's just how the Wizard works!_ ”

“You weren't this bad before,” Scarecrow says in a low voice to the Tin Man. “It's like when N- when the Necromancer turned you into this -” he gestures to the Tin Man's shiny metal body, “he sucked all of the positivity out with it.”

The Tin Man shrugs, and makes a squeaky-creaky sound as he does so.

–

As Sadie had predicted, the Wizard sends them Westward to rid the world of the Necromancer.

Specifically, the Wizard wants some old spell book belonging to the guy as proof that he's dead.

Grover's wringing his hands and babbling about what a terrible idea this is and every once in a while, the Scarecrow would say something to him, Sadie couldn't hear what.

Bast is riding on Sadie's shoulder now, having grown lazy and loud the longer they walked on their way to the city. 

They come across a beautiful woman with dark hair leading a child down the road in the opposite direction. Something in the Scarecrow seems to break a little, and the entire time that Sadie is chatting with the woman, he says nothing.

“It's nearly nightfall,” the woman – who has introduced herself as Piper Grace, first lady of the western lands – says. “Thalia and I will be making camp shortly, would you like to join us?”

Sadie shoots the Scarecrow a questioning look, but he nods without saying anything. She's not sure exactly what to make of the whole thing, but Piper's pretty cool and Sadie's not great at camping.

(Sidenote: she's really wishing she could take these damn magic shoes off, walking miles and miles in heels – even impossibly comfortable magic ones – is not fun.)

They sit around their fire that night and talk.

“We're looking for the Necromancer,” Sadie explains. “On an errand for the Wizard as compensation for him sending me home.”

Piper rolls her eyes. “Trust Zeus to send a child to kill an innocent man.”

“Innocent?” repeats Sadie, too distracted by what Piper had said to take offence at being called a child. “He seemed pretty evil when _I_ met him.”

“You've only met him the once,” Piper says, settling into an unignorable storytelling tone. “My husband was his friend in school, and from what Jason told me he wouldn't have hurt a fly back then. And I've met him since, he's staying in Grace Castle. Nico is broken, not evil.”

“Oh.” Sadie shrugs. “Well I don't really care about whatever the Wizard's problem with him is. I just want to go home. Bast's getting restless and I miss the trainees. Not my stupid brother, though. This is a nice break from him.” 

Piper raises her eyebrows skeptically, but doesn't comment.

The next morning, they part ways with Piper and Thalia. Piper wishes them luck and encourages Sadie not to do anything she'll regret.

As they leave the Graces, Sadie realises that the Scarecrow still hasn't said a word.

“Is everything all right?” Sadie asks.

The Scarecrow nods. “Fine, yeah. Just fine.”

“You've not spoken in almost a day, is all,” persists Sadie.

“Everything's fine, Sadie. I just didn't have anything to say,” the Scarecrow replies. “Just drop it.”

Sadie really doesn't _want_ to drop it, because something's bothering him, and if the repeated creaky glances the Tin Man is throwing him are any indication, he _knows_ what it is. But before she can do anything about it, a skeletal hand has closed around her wrist and is pulling her away from the others.

“Uh, guys?” she calls, “Little help?”

Unfortunately, because her friends are useless when they're caught off guard, she's been dragged into some dark cold place before they even start to move. 

Before she really has time to process, Sadie's in a different place entirely. The forest is gone, replaced with grey stone walls and a distant view through the window of a hillside far below.

“I don't want to hurt you,” a male voice says.

Sadie spins on her heel, startled. She finds herself more or less face-to-face with the same greyish-pale man who'd showed up in the East, shouting about the shoes. The Necromancer. Nico, Piper had called him. He seemed scary before. Up close he just looks sick. “You know, I didn't get that impression earlier.”

He runs his hand through his hair, clearly frustrated. “Yeah, well, I've been told I don't handle grief well.”

“No kidding,” Sadie comments. “I'm sorry about your sister, by the way. It was an accident.”

“It was an accident I could correct, if you'd give me those damned shoes,” replies the Nec- Nico. It's hard to think of him as a big, terrifying sorcerer when she can see first hand that he's unhealthily thin and looks like he couldn't hurt a fly if he wanted to. And she _knows_ that appearances don't mean much as far as magic is concerned, but still...

“I can't. They're magic-stuck to my feet or something. _Trust_ me, I'd give them to you if I could,” Sadie says. She shuffles her feet a little, making the little spots of light reflected by the shoes dance around the walls and ceiling. “They're hardly my style.”

Nico frowns. “I'll figure something out. Until then -” he gestures to a mattress on the floor by the far wall “get comfortable. Because you're not leaving until I get them.”

With that, he turns and leaves the room, slamming the door shut behind him. The lock clicks.

“HEY!” Sadie shouts after him, running forward and banging on the door. “GET BACK HERE! THIS _ISN'T MY FAULT!_ I JUST WANT TO GO HOME!”

–

Hours and hours later, Sadie's sitting against the door. She's all but given up on convincing Nico to let her out.

There's a _thud_ , and the door jolts like a weight hit it from the other side.

“ _I couldn't find anything_ ,” Nico's voice says. “ _Are you sure you can't take them off?”_

“Yeah, I'm pretty damn well sure,” replies Sadie. “Why do you want them so badly?”

“ _I think I can use them to bring my little sister back,”_ he answers. “ _The magic, it's tied to her. And I'm not called the Necromancer for nothing.”_

“Well these shoes aren't coming off any time soon.”

“ _Damn_.” There's a pause. _“I really don't want to fail again.”_

“Again?”

“ _Didn't they feed you their propaganda before sending you out to kill me? It's Hera's favourite story to tell. I've already lost a sister.”_

“What does that have to do with Hera?”

“ _She's spun the story to make me look like a cold-hearted killer. As a ten-year-old._ ”

“Well that's just stupid.”

“ _And yet people believe it._

“It's the death powers thing, freaks people out.”

“ _No kidding.”_

“Look, as much as I can feel for the whole wanting to save your sister thing, you can't keep me here forever. It might be best if you'd just let me go. I'm sure somebody in Olympus can help me get the shoes off before I leave.”

“ _They won't help you unless you've killed me._ ”

“Hey, nobody actually said anything about killing. Everybody just _assumes_. I was sent for a book, not for your life.”

“ _It's all the same to Zeus. He doesn't like me much.”_

“What'd you do to him, anyway?”

“ _We had a minor disagreement. I thought he wasn't doing enough to help the non-humans, see? There were – are, actually – hate crimes and disappearances, and it turns out that he'd been funding them. But after I blew up at him, Hera declared me public enemy number one. Keep people afraid of somebody else, right?”_

“I don't know if I believe that.”

“ _You don't have to_.”

Sadie sighs. “From my perspective, you're not really coming off as a good guy.”

“ _...I can understand that_.”

“Well, as sorry as I am for your loss, you really have to let me leave.”

“ _And why's that_?”

“You're not the only decent older brother in the world. Mine's probably worried out of his skull.”

Nico doesn't answer. Instead, after a moment of silence, he kicks the door and stomps away.

Sadie groans and leans her head against the door. _Well, there goes my last chance to get out of this easily._


	8. I Have Been Changed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I -   
> I am so sorry.

Percy shows up just in time to see Nico kick a door and storm down toward the main staircase.

“You shouldn't be here,” Nico snaps when he notices Percy.

“They're coming for you,” Percy says.

“Go _away!_ ”

“No,” says Percy. “No, I _won't_. Hear me out.” He grabs Nico by the arms and forces the younger man to meet his eye. “You need to leave. Let the girl go, and keep your head down. Leave the country, if you can. Just don't stay here and let yourself get killed.”

“Hazel -”

“Is _dead_ , Nico. But she'd never forgive you if you lost yourself – your life – trying to bring her back. It's not worth it.”

“Of course it's worth it,” Nico says, and he sounds like he's about to break down, which they really can't afford right now. “Hazel is worth anything.”

“I'm not denying that Hazel is important, Nico,” answers Percy. He lets go of one of Nico's arms and moves his hand to the back of Nico's neck, pulling his head forward so their foreheads touch. “I'm saying that _you_ _living_ is more important than bringing Hazel back.”

For a moment, neither of them says anything.

"You should go,” Nico whispers. He tries to pull away, but Percy's hand is still resting on the cool skin of Nico's neck, holding him there.

"No, Nico, I shouldn’t." 

"It’s not safe for you to stay,” insists Nico. He slips away from Percy to glance out the nearest window, then returns to face his former friend. “You shouldn’t have come in the first place. Now go - it’s time for the Necromancer’s last stand. Don’t worry, I’ll let the kid win."

"Nico -"

"Percy, _go_.”

"No." They’re close together again, mere inches apart. Percy wonders what would happen if he closed that gap. Knowing Nico, nothing good. " _No_. I - I can’t let you go like this, not again.”

"I’m sorry. I’m - I’m so sorry."

"Just - oh, screw it - I love you, okay?” Percy knows he sounds desperate, broken. He doesn't really care. “There’s no knowing if you’ll - you’ll come out of this alive. But at least now you know you’re loved, I guess. Hardly makes up for it."

"I - okay, great for you, Perce, and you know how I _-_ well - but you’ve got to hide, _now_. Sadie’s friends have found a way in.”

And – _who cares about desperate?_ – Percy presses a too-quick kiss to Nico's lips. “Good-bye.”

There are footsteps and angry voices approaching.

“ _Percy_ ,” Nico whispers, pushing Percy toward the nearest open door, “hide.”

Percy doesn't want to, doesn't want to leave Nico alone for this, but he does. Nico shuts the door behind him as he leaves the room, but it doesn't quite latch and swings back open a crack.

It's just enough that Percy can hear everything clearly and see shadows on the opposite wall.

They've freed Sadie, and she's standing in front of the others, pleading with Nico.

“Please, just give us the book. We'll leave and leave you be,” she says.

“Don't be stupid, Sadie, we know that's not how this is going to work,” says the one who creaks and clanks with every step, standing just behind her. Percy frowns. He remembers that voice.

“It is if we act like rational adults,” Sadie snaps. Percy wants to hug her. He _knows_ she was sent to kill Nico, and here she is trying to find another solution.

“The book is meant to be proof of death,” that same familiar voice says. “They won't help us if we leave him alive.”

“Leo!” another familiar voice says, and then it clicks. But why Leo Valdez would be so dead set on killing Nico is beyond Percy. This second voice seems to be attached to the shadow with the wobbly legs, who the stories of this little band of misfits say is a living scarecrow. He sounds rather like – but _no, it can't be him_. Percy knows what happens to people who are taken like that, and they aren't left alive in any state, not even like this.

Nico's shadow is taking slow, careful steps backward, away from Sadie and her friends. “Now, you listen to Sadie, _Leo_. Nobody needs to get hurt.”

“You sure about that, di Angelo?”

“Holding onto grudges doesn't suit you,” Nico says. “I'd ask what happened to you, but...”

Without warning, Leo launches himself forward toward Nico. Nico jumps, startled. And then everyone's screaming. From what Percy can tell, the cloak that Nico's been wearing over that old jacket of his has caught fire from one of the torches on the wall.

He sees Sadie's shadow pick up a bucket – presumably full of water – and toss its contents at Nico. 

There's a horrible scream, and Nico's shadow is shrinking away, then gone.

“Did he just -” Sadie begins.

“I think he _melted_ ,” a fourth voice says.

“C'mon, grab the book and let's go,” says the Scarecrow, sounding oddly choked up. “I- I don't like this place, it's creeping me out.”

Percy falls against the wall, sliding to the floor. 

He doesn't know how long he stays like that, only that by the time he finds the will to move there are damp spots on his shirt and his face is cold from tears and the cool air.

The people who'd been in the hall – Sadie and her friends – are gone. All that's left is a soaked, singed cloak sitting in a puddle of water and that stupid jacket that Nico always wore when they were in school, regardless of the weather. Percy picks it up with shaking hands and just stares at it for a minute.

He takes the jacket with him when he leaves.

–

“It's time for you to leave,” Annabeth says calmly.

“And who are you to tell me that, child?” replies Zeus. 

He doesn't even do her the courtesy of looking up from his book.

_Well, we can't have that_.

“I, _sir_ , am the one who has functionally been running this country since graduating university,” says Annabeth. “And I am also the one who's been pulling together evidence of state-funded hate crimes against non-humanoids under your regime. So you can either leave quietly – 'accidentally,' even, if you'd like – when the girl does, or you can be publicly disgraced and rot in a local prison for the rest of your sorry life.”

“Are you _threatening_ me?” Zeus asks.

Annabeth smiles sweetly. “I wouldn't dare, Your Wizardliness. I'm just filling you in on current events. It's in your best interests to leave quietly now that your distraction for the people has been killed, isn't it? They'll start noticing.”

She doesn't allow Zeus to respond to her, just turns on her heel and walks snappily out of the room.

She doesn't stop until she's home, where Percy is still perched on a couch, Nico's jacket around his shoulders. He hasn't moved since he first came home and told Annabeth what happened. She sits next to him and drops her head onto his shoulder.

“It's not fair, Annie,” he says hoarsely, lacing his fingers through hers.

Annabeth blinks a few times, trying to suppress the tears she can feel forming. “I know, Percy, I know.”

“We're too young to be the last ones left.”

She takes a broken, gasping breath. “But we are.” _Everyone else is gone_. “We're the last ones.”


	9. For The Better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an epilogue.  
> It picks up right where the prologue/first chapter left off.   
> Thank you all so _so_ much for sticking with me through this whole crazy thing.

"Yes," Percy says after a moment. "I was his friend. I was his best friend. I'm not ashamed of that."

The crowd erupts in shouts and gasps. Percy feels sick, because he knows they don't get it and they won't understand any time soon. Annabeth must have seen his distress, because she gently brushes him aside and takes his place at the podium. "Return to your celebrations, this event is over," she announces. Then she takes Percy by the hand and leads him away.

Through an open window he can hear the celebrating again.

"He's dead! He's dead! The Necromancer's dead!"

And then it all hits him.

Nico is gone.

Again.

Only this time, this time, _there'll be no coming back._

Nico di Angelo is dead.

And Hazel.

And Leo.

And Jason.

Percy finally, finally breaks down for real. Not just sitting frozen on a couch for hours on end. That wasn't so much grief as shock. No, he goes home and literally starts breaking things. He throws furniture, he creates chaos. He takes the _mess_ he is inside and forces his surroundings to imitate it, because he can't bear to live the neat, ordered life when he's so... not.

(Never let it be said that a grieving Percy is an articulate one.)

How did it work out that he and Annabeth are the last ones standing?

It's not fair.

_It's not fair_.

–

Someone is banging on the door.

“It worked!”

He pushes the trapdoor open and finds himself almost nose-to-nose with the Scarecrow.

“You're -”

“ _Alive_ ,” Jason interrupts. “That's all that matters. You saved my life.”

He helps Nico climb out of the hidden room.

“We have to go quickly,” continues Jason. 

“We can never come back, can we?” Nico asks.

“No.”

“I only wish...”

“What?”

“I wish Percy could know we're alive.”

“I know,” Jason says. “He can't, though. No one can. It's the only way we can know they'll be safe.”

Nico sighs.

Jason pulls him into a hug and kisses the top of his head. “Let's go.”

–

_Who can say if I've been changed for the better?_

– 

“This has been a frightening time in our history,” Percy says to a new crowd of people. “And there will be other times and other things that frighten us in the future. But, if you'll let us, Annabeth and I would like to help. _I_ would like to help. I'd like to try to be... good.”

–

_I do believe I have been changed for the better._

–

Nico's hand holds tightly to Jason's.

He takes a deep breath, and together they cross an invisible line that they will never be able to cross again. 

It takes every ounce of willpower he has not to look back on their home.

Former home.

Time to go.

–

_But, because I knew you, I have been changed for good._


End file.
